Dear Struggling Writer
Dear Struggling Writer,
You used to have words connecting your heart and your fingertips. It was a magical relationship, one where hours could fly by and you'd never notice until the sun was setting over the horizon.
You called yourself a Writer, capital 'W'. Maybe not an Author, but a Writer nonetheless. You defined yourself by the words and stories that kept you up at night, glued to your keyboard and glowing screen. You had big dreams, goals you were determined to meet.
Then something happened. Maybe you got busy and had to close the screen. Maybe Life got in the way. Maybe the words stopped flowing, as if the river you once defined yourself by dried up and you found yourself lost, tired, frustrated. Doubts crept in. Were you really a Writer? Were you even a writer?
Believe me when I say it gets better. The words may have dried up for now, but they'll be back one day. Take a break. Breathe. Make yourself a cup of tea, have a glass of water. Go for a walk, read a good book, watch a good movie. Take care of yourself. Eat good food.
Talk to a friend about your book. Explain it to them, work out the plot twists and kinks and explore the fictional world you created away from the keyboard. Remember why you love writing, remember why you started.
Then sit down. Pull your chair up. Stretch out your neck and your fingers. Earbuds in. Fingers on the keyboard. And write. Write as if your life depends on it, no matter how hard it is. Push through. It will get better, and until then you just have to hang on.
Dear Struggling Writer, it gets better.
Love,
Victoria
Tell me about how your writing projects are going in the comments!
You used to have words connecting your heart and your fingertips. It was a magical relationship, one where hours could fly by and you'd never notice until the sun was setting over the horizon.
You called yourself a Writer, capital 'W'. Maybe not an Author, but a Writer nonetheless. You defined yourself by the words and stories that kept you up at night, glued to your keyboard and glowing screen. You had big dreams, goals you were determined to meet.
Then something happened. Maybe you got busy and had to close the screen. Maybe Life got in the way. Maybe the words stopped flowing, as if the river you once defined yourself by dried up and you found yourself lost, tired, frustrated. Doubts crept in. Were you really a Writer? Were you even a writer?
Believe me when I say it gets better. The words may have dried up for now, but they'll be back one day. Take a break. Breathe. Make yourself a cup of tea, have a glass of water. Go for a walk, read a good book, watch a good movie. Take care of yourself. Eat good food.
Talk to a friend about your book. Explain it to them, work out the plot twists and kinks and explore the fictional world you created away from the keyboard. Remember why you love writing, remember why you started.
Then sit down. Pull your chair up. Stretch out your neck and your fingers. Earbuds in. Fingers on the keyboard. And write. Write as if your life depends on it, no matter how hard it is. Push through. It will get better, and until then you just have to hang on.
Dear Struggling Writer, it gets better.
Love,
Victoria
Tell me about how your writing projects are going in the comments!
This is beautiful. Many a times I have felt like this. X
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I'm glad you could relate <3
DeleteAck, this is such a struggle for me. I'm taking a good long break from writing at the moment to try to get my creative juices back. Writing doesn't feel good right now I hope it will feel good one day again.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad :( Sometimes life can get in the way and it sucks when writing isn't as fun anymore. I'm sure one day your writing will sort itself out again. Best of luck!
DeleteThis is such an important post! I'm not struggling with fiction writing at the moment, but rather an article for a magazine. I've honestly been working on it for weeks and it's still not getting any easier, so I think after this I'm just going to make a cake, drink some tea, and write, regardless of how bad it is. Once I'm over that I think I can go back and shape it into what I want. Thank you for this post - perfect timing!
ReplyDeleteAmy;
Wandering Everywhere
Thanks so much Amy! Make sure you make a brilliant (massive) cake and then eat the whole thing for me, ok? And I agree, I often find that if I write something, anything, no matter how bad it is, I can always rewrite later. That's the beauty of writing. Best of luck with your article!
DeleteI'm not exactly struggling but I have been lazy. I have already written the character profiles for my three main characters. I'm writing a character profile for my antagonist which is going to be an interesting experience. I have yet to write the (pantser inspired) outline. I'd like to start writing this month. Haven't written anything properly since LAST YEAR. AH.
ReplyDeleteGO GRACE GO I BELIEVE IN YOU! GO SMASH THAT MANUSCRIPT AND TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!
DeleteI rather like this! I had to stop writing what I wanted to because of college. But it's SUMMER! And I have this summer class wherein my professor is going to edit my book. O.O So I've been writing like mad recently and had a hard time getting back into. It's getting better though. Also, I really love that photo!
ReplyDeleteSame, I can't do any writing during the school term if I want to keep my sanity. Best of luck getting back into it, and I'd love to hear about your writing sometime! And thanks!
DeleteSorry I just realised you're Ashley! The change in name mixed me up :P
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